Hua Medicine (HKEX: 2552), a Shanghai-based drug development company focused on developing a global first-in-class oral drug for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, announced the appointment of Dr. Ralph Anthony DeFronzo as Global Consultant – Distinguished Scientific Consultant of the Company.

“I am very excited to announce this new appointment,” said Dr. Li Chen, Chief Executive Officer of Hua Medicine. “Dr. DeFronzo is one of the most renowned diabetes experts globally and has been instrumental in advancing global standard of care for diabetes. We are very excited to work with Dr. DeFronzo on our first-in-class GKA, dorzagliatin, and studying its important positioning and potential in contributing to the standard of care for diabetes globally.

“I’m excited about the prospect of working with Hua Medicine and the potential for dorzagliatin to contribute to improving beta cell function and glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes,” said Dr. Ralph DeFronzo. “This is exciting for me specifically as it represents a chance to work with a well-characterized GKA activator already in Phase III trials, and also to work with like-minded experts in China. I look forward to working with Hua Medicine to define the mechanisms via which dorzagliatin improves beta cell function, corrects the pathophysiologic abnormalities responsible for type 2 diabetes, restores normoglycemia, and prevents the long-term complications of the disease, and exploring the means by which this antidiabetic may contribute to stopping the complicated pathogenesis of Type 2 diabetes.”

Dr. DeFronzo is currently a Professor and Division Chief of Diabetes Division at the University of Texas Health Science Center and Deputy Director of Texas Diabetes Institute. He has contributed to several significant milestones in diabetes medicine, including leading the U.S. development of metformin, and its FDA approval in 1995. Since then, he discovered a new approach to diabetes treatment that targets glucose reabsorption in the kidneys, which led to the development and approval of SGLT-2. He has received several prestigious awards, including the Lilly Award (1987) by the American Diabetes Association, Banting Lectureship Award (1988) by the Canadian Diabetes Association, Novartis Award (2003), ADA’s Albert Renold Award (2002), the ADA’s Banting Award (2008), and the Harold Hamm International Prize (2018). Dr. DeFronzo has also published over 800 articles in peer-reviewed medical journals.

About Dorzagliatin

Dorzagliatin is a first-in-class glucokinase activator, or GKA, designed to control the progressive degenerative nature of diabetes by restoring glucose homeostasis in Type 2 diabetics. By addressing the defect of the glucose sensor function of glucokinase, or GK, dorzagliatin has the potential to repair the impaired glucose homeostasis state of Type 2 diabetics and serve as a first-line standard of care therapy for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, or as a cornerstone therapy when taken in combination with currently approved anti-diabetes drugs.

About Hua Medicine

Hua is a leading, clinical stage innovative drug development company in China focused on novel therapies for the treatment of diabetes. Founded by an experienced group of entrepreneurs and international investment firms, Hua advanced a first-in-class oral drug for the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes into NDA enabling stage and started 2 Phase III trials in China. The Company has also initiated product life-cycle management studies of this novel diabetes drug, and advanced its use in personalized diabetes care. Hua's strategy is to leverage the cost-efficient and high-quality drug development capabilities available in China, while working very closely with disease experts and regulatory agencies in China and rest of the world to advance diabetes care solutions for global patients.